[ad_1]
SINGAPORE – For 33-year-old Nur Fazli, who was fired in June, receiving a six-month pay cut would have been better than losing her job.
The former store supervisor said he was surprised when his employer broke the news to him, as he believed his logistics job was safe.
“I’d rather have people cut my salary for a few months … instead of (having) zero income,” he told The Straits Times on Saturday (October 17).
“Everyone has to eat. We can’t just let people go like that.”
Other job seekers echoed their sentiments at a career fair held at Our Tampines Hub on Saturday, with some saying they were prepared to accept a pay cut of up to 50 percent to secure a job.
But most added that they would actively seek other jobs if wages were kept low for too long.
On Friday, the National Wages Council gave employers the green light to cut wages to save jobs, provided government support and other cost-saving measures have been exhausted.
He recommended that management take earlier and deeper cuts, and also inform his staff how their salaries would eventually recover.
“The employer must respect the fact that the pay cut is temporary,” said Ms. Denise Tan, who attended Saturday’s career fair. The 50-year-old former customer service executive said she was willing to take a 30 percent pay cut from her previous job. But he had doubts that employers would restore wages once business improved.
About 1,400 jobs were offered at the two-day fair that ended on Saturday. It was organized by the Northeast Community Development Council (CDC), in collaboration with the NTUC Employment and Employability Institute. Jobs include positions in the retail, logistics, transportation, and food and beverage industries.
North East CDC said the number of residents seeking job assistance has more than doubled in the past three months compared to the previous quarter.
The Straits Times also spoke with several Singaporeans who did not attend the job fair to get their thoughts on the NWC recommendations this year.
Some suggested that employers could stop paying their share of contributions to the Central Provident Fund (CPF) as a cost-saving measure rather than reducing workers’ wages, while others expressed concern about reducing their salary even though his company was still profitable.
One of them was Ms. PT Lee, 49, who works in the private education industry. His company has already implemented a salary freeze, which will likely run until August 2022, he said.
Now that the NWC has approved pay cuts, you are concerned your employer will follow suit. “I don’t think it’s fair if the company is making a profit and still cuts staff pay,” Ms Lee said.
Another Singaporean, who only wanted to be known as Muhammad, said he could withstand a 10 percent pay cut.
The 36-year-old, who works in the logistics industry and earns between $ 2,000 and $ 2,500 a month, said anything else would be a “burden.”
Muhammad said his salary remains unchanged for now, although he has friends who have been affected. “For lower paid employees, getting a pay freeze is terrible,” he added. “Saving for rainy days is not possible for them, considering the low wages and high standard of living in Singapore.”
[ad_2]
